Texas Rangers Blog

Mocking U: Rangers mock 2010 roster (V5.0)

SURPRISE, Ariz. – There are two weeks to Opening Day. This is when rosters should start to come into better focus. Sorry, that’s not how things are working for the Rangers. The Rangers are dealing with injuries in the starting rotation (Tommy Hunter), the infield (Ian Kinsler) and behind the plate (Jarrod Saltalamacchia). That’s created a whole bunch of questions all over the roster. The Rangers are looking hard for middle infield candidates and may need to resume looking for a veteran backup catcher.Starting pitchers (5): RHP Rich Harden, RHP Scott Feldman, LHP Matt Harrison, RHP Colby Lewis, LHP C.J. Wilson.

Changes from last week: Wilson replaces Hunter.

Summing it up: Tommy Hunter will open the season on the DL with a strained rib cage muscle, which creates two open spots in the rotation. It makes it that much more likely that LHP C.J. Wilson will earn one of the spots. He’s had the most impressive spring of any starter in camp and despite his value to the bullpen, it’s almost impossible to justify NOT moving him to the rotation for now. The Rangers are hoping to have Hunter by mid-April, which could raise some interesting questions at that point. Will the club move him immediately back to the rotation or might he have to wait his turn in Triple-A. When was the last time a capable Rangers starting pitcher had to actually wait for his opportunity?

Changes from last week: With Wilson moving to the rotation, Mathis replaces him in the bullpen.

Summing it up: The last spot in the bullpen is really up in the air. The Rangers would love for this to go to RHP Chris Ray, but he’s not shown a return to his pre-surgery velocity and certainly hasn’t shown great command. He might benefit from a season-opening stint on the DL with the opportunity to work out the kinks on a rehab assignment for a couple of weeks. With Wilson gone, there might be a need for a second lefty, which could might make the Rangers more willing to keep Rule 5 pick Ben Snyder. But he hasn’t exactly dominated against lefties this spring, so that point could be moot. RHP Willie Eyre has pitched really well this spring, but is not on the 40-man roster, which presents some issues. Though Mathis hasn’t had a great spring (five walks in six strikeouts), he was quite effective as a reliever last year, has options remaining and can go multiple innings. He is the perfect candidate for the thankless job of driving the Oklahoma City-Arlington shuttle route.

Summing it up: While there has been much hand-wringing over the backup infielders’ spots, Ian Kinsler’s lack of availability due to a high ankle sprain is getting a little unsettling. The Rangers still think he can be back in the lineup for the last week of exhibitions and get enough reps to be ready for Opening Day. If he’s not, then the Rangers absolutely, positively must go out and get a legitimate backup middle infielder via a trade or the waiver wire. For now, it looks like Joaquin Arias is being given every opportunity to win that job. Over the next two weeks, he must show the Rangers he can win a game for them as a pinch runner in the late innings. If everybody is healthy, it’s likely Arias could make an impact as a runner (for a catcher or Vladimir Guerrero) more than as a position player. What’s troubling is that Arias has not been great at picking up signs in the past. The Rangers are going to have to find a spot for non-roster invitee Brown. He’s hit his way on to the team and has impressed everybody with his work ethic. He’s gotten a little better at third since a shaky start there, indicating there might be room for further improvement.

Summing it up: Manager Ron Washington has outlined a plan that could get David Murphy about 80-90 starts this season in relief of all four of the outfielders/DH options. If Washington can hold to that plan, it should be enough to keep Murphy involved and productive. The Rangers have two legit emergency options in Brandon Boggs and Craig Gentry. And while they have a screaming need for a legit emergency option to pop up among the infielders, they don’t have that need in the outfield.

Catchers (2): Taylor Teagarden, Max Ramirez

Changes from last week: Ramirez replaces Jarrod Saltalamacchia

Summing it up: If Saltalamacchia’s back/neck spasm keeps him out for the week, it may be very difficult to open the season with him behind the plate. The Rangers don’t think Ramirez is much of a catcher, but if he needs to hold down the backup job for the first two weeks of the season, the club might be able to get by for that point. The bigger concern is what kind of options they have for Teagarden or Saltalamacchia if they don’t get the job done for the long-term. Texas could really use a healthy veteran with good game-calling skills to act as camp counselor to the catcher. Rangers scouts are scouring camps right now for a backup catcher and a backup infielder. Those guys aren’t likely to become available until the middle or late stages of the week, at the earliest.